Home Performance Meets Green Renovation

The EarthCraft House Renovation program gives existing homes the green treatment.

In 1991, Dennis Creech and his wife,Callie Pendergrast,were looking to expand and renovate their 1950s ranch-style house.They needed additional space for their teen daughter, and they also wanted to update the original kitchen and bath; at the same time, they also knew that, if possible, they should do everything they could to correct problems they had noticed in the house. Moisture had been an issue for years—there was evidence of crawlspace water intrusion; the bathrooms lacked exhaust fans; and mold formed on walls in adjacent rooms. Room temperatures were uneven. As executive director of Southface Energy Institute in Atlanta, Creech was well aware of the link between indoor air quality (IAQ) and energy efficiency. At the time Creech and Pendergrast were looking to renovate their ranch house, Southface was piloting Earth- Craft House, a green building program that it had developed jointly with the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association. Earthcraft House already had plans on the drawing board to develop a renovation component to complement the new home program. The Creech-Pendergrast residence became the test house for the EarthCraft House Renovation program. &...